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My brow furrowed. Was Zoe getting lost in Mira?
I murmured in agreement, my mind snagging on how differently Zoe and I were reacting to this. She dived in headfirst, no questions asked, filling every role that Mira needed her to fill.
If Zoe was scared by any of this, she sure as hell wasn’t letting it show.
“I’m home now, Mum. It’s my night to make dinner, so I should head inside.”
“And what are we serving?”
I smiled a little. “She told me I’m banned from making chicken and veggies more than twice a week, so I’m having to expand my horizons a bit.”
“And?”
“Fish and veggies. Grilling some salmon.”
She laughed. “I did you no favors, did I? I always preferred to do it myself rather than have anyone mucking up the kitchen when I was trying to cook.”
“You did just fine, Mum,” I told her. My throat felt tight because it had been too long since I’d talked to her.
“I miss you, son.”
I closed my eyes. “You too.”
“Can I come visit during the season? I haven’t seen you play in person in a couple years. I miss it. And I want to meet these girls of yours.”
Absently, I rubbed at my chest, because the denial was quick and sharp on the tip of my tongue.
They weren’t mine. Not by a landslide.
“I’ll send you the schedule.”
She went quiet for a moment. “I love you, Liam. The first love of my life, you are.”
“Don’t tell Nigel.”
Mum laughed. “Oh, he knows. And don’t deflect when someone says something nice to you, all right?”
I sighed heavily, because there was no hiding any of my shit from her. “All right.”
She disconnected the call, and after a few moments in my car, I felt steady enough to go inside. The kitchen was silent. Papers and crayons and books were strewn all over the island.
I tugged at one of the drawings. Mira must’ve asked for ducks, as Zoe had a sheet with about fifteen little yellow ducks in various shapes and sizes. On the paper next to it were giant yellow blobs slashed through with orange scribbles.
“So close,” I said quietly.
Movement from the backyard caught my attention.
Zoe stood next to the pool, bending over to try and coax Mira onto the top step with her. When Mira shook her head vehemently, Zoe straightened, and my throat instantly went dry.
There was nothing overtly sexy about her suit; the clean lines of the pale-pink one-piece were cut high on her thighs and low on her chest. The ripe curves of her breasts were high and sweet. Maybe not much more than a handful, but fucking hell, my mouth watered at the sight.
Around her shoulders, all those golden curls tossed about in the breeze.
She smiled sweetly at Mira and adjusted the delicate straps of the suit. Everything she did was sweet to me, even in the moments when she’d spit fire over how mad I’d made her.
Wasn’t that the crux of my problems? I could hardly see any of this clearly because I was tied up in a million knots over this woman.
And as much as Mira scared the shit out of me, the things I felt for Zoe were just as terrifying.
